Tag Archives: Bahrain

If Syria is quite rightly monopolizing much of the world’s attention as fears of a global war are slowly materializing now that Washington has put in motion its rhetoric of war, walls of terror and despair are closing in on Bahrain, a once joyful and united nation.

Plagued by protracted political and social unrest, the people of Bahrain have since 2011 relentlessly called on their government and leader – King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifah – to implement broad social, political, judicial and constitutional reforms as to reflect their democratic aspirations.

Unbending and unwilling to renounce his kingly privileges for the sake of justice or democracy, King Hamad has so far met his people’s demands with fire and lead, thus prompting a national resistance movement.

While political activists and politicians of the opposition remained true to their peaceful aspirations, determined to see through change without resorting to violence, the regime, led by King Hamad has been ever increasingly sinking to new levels of infamy.

Countless reports of physical and psychological abuses have been reported, documented and witnessed by rights groups since 2011, painting the horrific realities of life under a repressive, amoral and unlawful regime.

But if al-Khalifa has authorized and even instructed its security apparatus to act viciously against whomever would dare rise in opposition to his rule, reports that the regime brutalized and unlawfully detained a pregnant – woman have incensed activists around the world and created a popular backlash of such magnitude that it could very well mark a turning point in the opposition movement.

Many Bahrainis have already asked how one could even contemplate agreeing to any form of political agreement with a regime that could behave beyond what is humanly tolerable, or even acceptable.

Because if torture and sectarian-based repression are indeed despicable human rights violations, the persecution of a pregnant woman falls under crime against humanity.

The case of Nadya Ali

Earlier this month the authorities ruled that Nadya Ali, a young wife and mother-to-be would have to remain in detention pending trial, based on fabricated allegations that she physically assaulted law enforcement officers.

As reported by Ahlul Bayt News Agency, “Nadya has been facing false accusations, after she was stopped at a checkpoint on 30th May, during a security clampdown on the village of Bani Jamra. The complaint against her is lacking in credibility, especially with the plaintiff holding the power of arrest. Nadya has been held continuously since her arrest, although has not yet been convicted of any crime. Therefore her detention is considered a punishment against her and her unborn child, outside the course of both justice and humanity.”

Nadya’s family have told reporters time and time again that the young woman’s terrifying ordeal with the law started when she and her husband were stopped at a checkpoint in Bani Jamra.

Without giving any reason or justification, the police demanded that Nadya’s husband step out of his vehicle, before they moved to handcuff him and threw him in a van to be transported to the police station and processed.

As Nadya protested, stressing her husband’s innocence, not understanding why the police would perceive him to be a threat, officers turned their attention to her. In what can only be characterized as a random and sectarian-based targeted attack, police confiscated her ID card, warning she would face prosecution should she continue to resist.

Left free to return home, Nadya thought of nothing but to arrange for her husband’s safe release from jail, she never imagined that she, soon, would be the victim of state repression.

As per reported by her family members, when Nadya presented herself to Budaiya Police station, as she had been instructed to do by officers, she was immediately put into custody and brutalized by two policewomen in the toilet.

“On visiting Budaiya Police Station to request the return of her ID, an officer handcuffed her and took her to the toilet facility in the station, where she was tied to a chair and assaulted with the help of two other policewomen. Following this ordeal she was falsely charged with attacking security personnel and transferred to the Public Prosecution, who ordered her detention,” her family told the press.

The very idea that the sanctity of life could be so blatantly trampled over and overlooked by al-Khalifa has horrified Bahrainis across all segments of society, regardless of their political affiliations or religious beliefs.

The entire nation has been stunned by such barbarism and inhumanity.

Many activists have asked, “What monster, what blood-thirsty psychopath could ever justify harming an unborn child and his mother? What crime could this child ever be accused of? When will enough be enough? What atrocities will the people of Bahrain have to endure before the world can recognize the evil of this regime?”

The Women Affairs Unit in al-Wefaq National Islamic Society – the most prominent party of the opposition – stated, “Keeping Nadya and her unborn baby in oppressive detention illustrates the methodology of the regime in targeting women and children. Nadya’s arrest reveals a deep problem in human rights in general and especially the rights of women and children in Bahrain.”

Moreover al-Wefaq Liberties and Human Rights Department -LHRD – have called on the Red Cross to intervene on behalf of Nadya Ali and seek her immediate release on humanitarian grounds. The LHRD said “keeping Nadya in jail for this length of time is a punishment for her and her unborn baby.”

They noted that the accusations against her are minor compared with those against many security officers who have been released despite being accused of killing pro-democracy protesters.

Disturbed by the gravity of Nadya’s plight, Dr. Haitham Abu-Saeed, the deputy minister of Foreign Affairs of the International Parliament for Safety and Peace, told the press in reaction, “So much is required from the authorities in Bahrain, and Nadya’s case is only an overflow from the tip, because the violations in Bahrain are many and ugly, and they are documented. The reports we are receiving from Manama suggest that torture methods and disrespect to human rights have gone beyond expectations. The Bahraini Government is required to reverse on its wrongdoings and abide to international covenants and sit on dialogue table with the Bahraini dissidents.”

Such atrocities, such abominable impunity can only reinforce al-Wefaq’s rejection of a decision made by the Arab League to establish a human rights court in Manama.

As noted by Nicholas McGeehan, a Persian Gulf researcher with Human Rights Watch (HRW), “The establishment of a glitzy new court won’t disguise the fact that Bahrain has a dismal and worsening record in that regard.”

Bahraini police forces have clashed with anti-regime demonstrators protesting against the killing of a young activist.

On Wednesday, Saudi-backed security forces fired tear gas at the protesters near the capital Manama.

The demonstrators pelted the police forces with rocks and petrol bombs in response.

The protest was held on the third day after the death of 20-year-old activist Sadiq Sabt, who spent about a month in coma.

According to reports, Sabt was deliberately run over by a car on July 30.

Earlier in the day, Bahraini Justice Minister Sheik Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa issued a decree, which restricts contacts between political groups and foreign diplomats, a move that further limits Shia activists in the Persian Gulf state.

Bahrain has imposed new tough restrictions on the opposition, banning political groups from meeting with foreign diplomats without government permission.

According to a decree by Bahrain Justice Minister Sheik Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa on Tuesday, all contacts between Bahraini political groups and diplomatic missions and consulates in Bahrain, foreign organizations, and representatives of foreign governments must be done in coordination with the Foreign Ministry.

It also says that a government representative must attend any meeting between Bahraini political groups and foreign diplomats.

The order also requires political groups to obtain government permission to meet international organizations outside Bahrain.

The new set of rules apparently aims to limit the activities of – opposition groups that have played a leading role in a more than 30-month uprising in the Persian Gulf nation…

Tens of thousands of Bahraini people have taken to the streets near the capital Manama in a fresh protest rally against the decades-long rule of the Al Khalifa royal family.

The protest took place on Friday in the Shiite village of Jad Fahs where anti-regime protesters chanted slogans against the “dictatorship.”

The protesters also demanded “democratic changes” in the Persian Gulf kingdom.

The protest came a day after a bomb blast rocked a Shia Muslim village near Manama, injuring at least four policemen.

According to a statement released by the country’s Interior Ministry on Friday, the explosion took place on Thursday night in the village of Sahla, about 8.5 kilometers (5 miles) west of Manama.

Describing the blast as ‘an act of terror’, the statement also added that an investigation had been launched into the attack.

No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing.

On August 17, five Bahraini police officers were wounded in a homemade bomb explosion in the Persian Gulf country.

According to Interior Ministry, the attack was carried out in al-Diar area on the island of Muharraq, northeast of the capital.

Bahrainis have been staging demonstrations since mid-February 2011, demanding political reform and a constitutional monarchy. However, the demand changed to an outright call for the ouster of the ruling Al Khalifa regime following its brutal crackdown on popular protests.

Scores have been killed, many of them under torture while in custody, and thousands more detained since the popular uprising began.

Protesters say they will continue holding anti-regime demonstrations until their demand for the establishment of a democratically-elected government and an end to rights violations are met.

At least 40 Bahraini prisoners have been injured after security forces attacked inmates protesting against their conditions, an activist says.

Sayed al Muhafada of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) said on Friday that he had received a call from inside the prison telling him that security forces used batons, tear gas, pepper spray and stun grenades against around 100 prisoners who were protesting over being deprived of family visits and other grievances, Reuters reported.

“Some of the prisoners defended themselves [which] resulted in the security forces using more violence. The BCHR received confirmed information from sources that the prison guards and security forces used stun grenades and tear gas inside closed cells that resulted in at least 40 injuries.”

Some reports, however, suggest that the clashes erupted when prison guards began a sudden search of the prison cells.

The Interior Ministry said security forces have restored order, describing the protest as a riot.

“They tried to break the doors, the police interfered and restored order,” a tweet by the ministry said.

Most of the anti-regime protesters arrested by the Manama government are charged with terrorism offences and face harsh conditions at prisons…

More than 60 demonstrations distributed over 40 Bahraini regions responded on August 14, which marks the anniversary of the Bahraini Independence from the British mandate, to the calls issued by Tamarod movement, challenging the regime’s threats.

Since the early morning, the peaceful rallies started in Karzkan, Damstan, Mousalla, and dozens of other villages.

The participants asserted the rights of the Bahrainis to achieve freedom, democracy, and the state of justice and equalityBahrain2. They further stressed the necessity of ending dictatorship and power monopoly.

The demonstrators raised the Bahraini flags as well as the photos of the Bahraini Revolution martyrs and insisted on expressing their opinions despite the siege imposed by the security forcBahrain3es.

In response, the regime security forces used shotguns to disperse the demonstrations and flooded the different cities with toxic and suffocating gases to attain as much damage among the citizens as possible.

Local sources asserted that the regime security forces heavily deployed around the capital and tried to isolate the different Bahraini cities. These forces took “security measures” that included raising the arrests and raids against the houses of the opposition activists.

Bahraini Tamarod movement later announced, in a statBahrain5ement, that the peaceful demonstrations will target “Sayf” Intersection and that decentralizing the peaceful demonstrations is possible.

The statement saluted all the Bahrainis who responded to Tamarod’s calls and urged the International community to impose on the Bahraini regime respecting the international charters that ensure the human rights.

Bahrain’s prime minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa said yesterday his government would “forcefully confront” protests called for later this week, and warned those involved that they would be punished, Bahraini state news agency BNA reported.

“The government will forcefully confront suspicious calls to violate law and order and those who stand behind them through decisive measures,” Prince Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa said after a meeting to discuss preparations to confront anti-government protests.

“It will punish (those) who stand behind them in line with recommendations of the National Council (parliament), which represents the will of the people of Bahrain,” he added.

The warning came in reaction to a plan by the opposition to hold a major demonstration on August 14, when the country will hold celebrations of independence from the UK.

People in Bahrain have held a massive funeral procession for a young boy who died after inhaling toxic gas used by the regime forces, becoming the latest victim of the kingdom’s brutal crackdown.

People joined the procession that started from the town of al-Malikiyah to his resting place on Saturday.

Ali Jaffar Habib, 10, was transferred to a hospital outside Bahrain after he became seriously ill for inhaling toxic gas.

The young boy’s grandfather, Haji Habib, was killed on the same day the regime forces fired toxic gas.

More than one hundred people have died since the revolution began two years ago. Many of the victims died when regime forces fired poisonous tear gas into residential areas and homes to crush anti-regime protests.

The kingdom’s main opposition group, al-Wefaq, said earlier the regime forces raided 216 homes in several villages across the country last week.

The opposition group also said most raids took place after midnight or at dawn and 42 people including two children were also arrested…

Bahrain’s main opposition group al-Wefaq says regime forces have injured over a dozen protesters in the past few days as the crackdown on anti-regime demonstrators and activists continues in the Persian Gulf sheikhdom.

The Bahraini opposition party said that the Manama regime forces raided 216 homes in several villages across Bahrain last week.

According to al-Wefaq, most raids took place after midnight or at dawn and 42 people including two children were also arrested.

On August 7, Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa banned protests in the capital, Manama, ahead of the August 14 celebrations of the country’s independence from the United Kingdom.

The opposition is planning to hold a major protest on the same day. The Manama regime has warned that any protests would face the “force of the law.”

A prominent Bahraini rights activist has been barred from a flight to her homeland, Bahrain, as the Persian Gulf nation is preparing for a major anti-regime protest.

Maryam al-Khawaja was prevented from boarding a British Airways flight from Copenhagen to Bahrain on Friday over a request from Manama authorities.

The airways officials, however, gave no specific reason for stopping her from boarding. A British Airways spokesman only said the airline barred her as “we are required to comply with requests from individual government authorities.”

“I had the flight this morning from Copenhagen and everything was fine. I did the online check-in yesterday. I was blocked at the boarding and told to check with the counter because there was a problem. The lady called the office in London who told her that there was a denied boarding message as a decision from Bahrain government,” she told IBTimes UK.

Maryam, who holds dual Bahraini-Danish citizenship, was due to visit Bahrain to monitor the situation ahead of planned anti-regime protests set to take place on August 14. Manama regime has already warned that anyone participating in protests would face the “force of the law.”

She later tweeted, “What I want to know is what the regime is so afraid of that they [would] issue a ban preventing me from travelling to Bahrain.”

Maryam is the acting president of Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BHCR) and according to a statement by the organization, she was due to visit her jailed father.

Abdulhadi al-Khawaja was given life sentence by a military court in June 2011 for organizing and taking part in anti-regime protests…

The Bahrain Watch organization has revealed that the Manama regime uses fake Twitter accounts to track government critics online.

Since October 2012, the Bahraini regime has detained several citizens for posting anonymous tweets that refer to Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

An eight-month investigation showed that the Bahraini regime identifies those anonymous online critics by sending them malicious IP (Internet Protocol) spy links from a network of Twitter and Facebook accounts impersonating well-known opposition figures or other seemingly friendly individuals.

When a person clicks on an IP spy link, the report said, the security forces reveal the IP address of the internet connection they clicked from.

The regime can then force the internet service provider of the IP address to disclose the real name and street address of that internet connection’s subscriber.

According to the report, an examination of court records for five related cases shows that the Public Prosecution’s case centers on linking the IP address of the defendant to the offending anonymous Twitter account.

The prosecution, however, declined to disclose how the IP addresses were acquired, citing information obtained through “private methods that cannot be disclosed.”

The Bahraini regime apparently uses these accounts in secret, and may target their followers, friends, or contacts through private messages.

The report also lists over 120 other accounts that were also targeted in Twitter with IP spy links traceable to the government over the past two years.

Bahrain Watch lead researcher Bill Marczak said, “It is outrageous enough that individuals have been arrested and jailed for mere tweets criticizing the government.”

“That these individuals are being tracked down and convicted based on such weak digital evidence only makes matters worse.”

Bahrain Watch has urged political and social activists in Bahrain, and around the world, to be vigilant about impersonation accounts and malicious links.

“Given the government’s track record, it comes as no surprise that it would resort to such measures to stifle free speech,” Marczak stated.

“However, our hope is that this report will spread awareness of the methods that governments around the world use to trap digital activists.”

Bahraini authorities blocked Al-Manar Website on Saturday claiming it violates the laws and provisions adopted in the country.

The website blockage comes after tightening sanctions by the National Council and the threat of the government to implement the recommendations, which tighten the noose against the opposition before the date set for Tamarrod (Rebellion) – Bahrain opposition peaceful protests on 14 August.

In the meantime, Bahraini authorities also banned demonstrations following the dubious bombing in Riffa city.

Millions of people around the world have held demonstrations to mark the International Quds Day to show support for the Palestinian resistance against Israel.

Millions of people in different countries held massive rallies on Friday in solidarity with the oppressed Palestinian nation, voicing their anger at the policies of the Israeli regime and its allies and calling for the liberation of Palestine.

Quds Day is held annually on the last Friday of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan during which demonstrators call for the liberation of Palestine and an end to Israeli occupation.

Muslims in more than 80 countries, including Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Australia and Indonesia, attended Quds Day demonstrations to support the Palestinians and condemn the Israeli occupation…

Protests in solidarity with the holy al-Quds swept Bahrain on Friday despite the regime’s repression which had injured several people.Bahrain rallies in al-Quds day

Security forces fired on Friday teargas and the internationally-banned gunshot bullet at protesters who gathered in several regions across the country in al-Quds day.

The residential area of Sar, in the country’s center, witnessed at the morning a protest in which Palestinian and Bahraini flags were raised. Several protesters were injured in the demo where security forces fired teargas and gunshot bullets.

The same scene was repeated in the region of Nuwaidrat, south of the capital, where security forces fired teargas.Bahraini security forces fired teargas at protesters in al-Quds day

Later on, following Friday prayers, crowds took to streets in the areas of Juffair, Sahla, Malkiya, Dair, Jablat Habashi, Karzakan, Sitra island, Diraz and other areas. These rallies were called for by February 14 Youth coalition and other movements.

The protests statement stressed that al-Quds remains in the minds and the hearts of the free people, adding that it stays the central issue for the Arab and the Muslim world.

The statement noted that the Bahraini people took out to streets in al-Quds day, despite the oppression, repression and crimes committed by the Bahraini regime in order to stress that al-Quds issue can’t stay away of these people’s minds, in any event.